An enduring campus romance

How Cory Aquino would have loved to be there, smiling proudly in the sidelines as her second grandson Miguel Abellada, son of daughter Pinky and her husband Manolo Abellada, waited by the altar of the St. Therese Church to meet his radiant, statuesque bride, Stephanie Yap.

His bride, resplendent in her Jun Escario lace gown with flowing train, was his classmate and crush at the Ateneo de Manila University.

The bride was blushing but it was the groom who wiped away tears of joy.

Miguel missed his Lola Cory, but “was happy enough that she met Steph in her lifetime.”

“Our wedding was great in our eyes,” says Miguel, the eldest of Pinky and Manolo’s two children, “but there will always be additional things you will wish for like...Lola’s presence.”

“But then again,” continues Miguel, who I remember walking hand in hand with his Lola Cory on the Palace grounds the day after a coup d’etat forced him and his family to seek refuge in the bullet-proof main Palace, “looking at the glass half full, I’m grateful Lola Cory met Steph and that nagandahan siya!”

Reception followed at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, which was simply elegant, but not ostentatious. Styling by Gideon Hermosa was tasteful. The most powerful man in the land was just another guest — he happened to be the groom’s maternal uncle. And President Benigno Aquino III was indeed the doting tito — he was seated beside his nephews Josh and Bimby.

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The willowy Steph, who works for Japan Tobacco International, recalls how their romance blossomed.

“Miguel and I met during our senior year in Ateneo. We were in the same Philosophy class wherein I was the class beadle (teacher’s assistant), which required me to share my mobile number to the whole class for class announcements or emergencies. This is where Miguel got my number and all was history!”

In college, she was first attracted to his sense of humor. Today, what she loves most about her ex-boyfriend and brand-new husband, who is a district sales manager at Unilever, is “his drive to succeed and build a good future for our future family.”

With Manolo and Pinky as parents, Miguel definitely has good role models.

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After Cory passed away in 2009, Miguel wrote, “Lola Cory was always there. She never missed our birthdays and would always have a card and gift ready. She also never missed any of our special days. She was there to witness her apos (grandchildren) receive Holy Communion for the first time. She was there to watch my basketball games, and would give me a hug whenever we won the championship.”

That day at the St. Therese Church, as her beloved grandson claimed Steph, his most precious trophy, Cory Aquino was surely smiling from above, hugging Miguel and Steph with her soft, enduring love.

Photos by Metrophoto

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